From Kenya, Kimutai Kemboi on self stigma and the healthy benefits of disclosure

As people living with HIV, we go through a series of challenges, one after the other. Testing positive is a big issue and as we try to cope with the situation another life threatening issue arises; stigma.
Stigma sounds like a simple word but it is intense enough to take someone's life. It is an 'opportunistic infection' on its own that can only heal on bold people or those people who can take the bull by its own horns. The weak souls will find it hard to fight.
As we know, stigma comes in t

From Kenya, Kimutai Kemboi on the many benefits of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART).

I must say having a talk with Sammy (as I said, not his real name) was one of the most interesting discussion I have ever had with anyone. His questions were endless, as each response gave rise to more questions but I was happy coz everything he asked was very relevant.
Sammy: This is very interesting. So you mean an undetectable person can be in an intimate relationship with a negative person without posing a threat to him or her?
Kemboi: (looking at my cup of tea) Just a minute Sammy, my t

From AIDSmap, Michael Carter and Keith Alcorn report on the Rakai Community Cohort Study.

The rate of new HIV infections has halved since 2011 in a Ugandan community following large increases in male circumcision, antiretroviral treatment and viral suppression, Frank Kagaayi of the Rakai Health Sciences Program told the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston on Tuesday.
Dr Kagaayi was presenting results from the Rakai Community Cohort Study, focusing on repeat surveys of one fishing village with a very high prevalence and incidence of HIV infection. The

Isaac D. Joseph on living with HIV and depression.

“Now if there's a smile on my face it's only there trying to fool the public…But don't let my glad expression give you the wrong impression… Like a clown I appear to be glad…But ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown when there's no one around – Smokey Robinson
The saddest kind of sad is when your tears can’t even fall and you feel nothing. Your world has ended, you don’t cry, you don’t speak, you don’t hear, you don’t see. You just stay there sunken and hollow an

I had a conversation with this guy, Sammy (not his real name) and I feel I should share it so that other people learn the facts.
Sammy: Hi Kim? (the short name of Kimutai)
Kemboi: Hi to you bro, how is the going?
Sammy: All is well, how about you?
Kemboi: Everything is perfect, just up and down as a routine.
Sammy: There is something that has been disturbing my mind for a while now and I have tried asking and researching but I am not convinced by the responses. That is why I thought of a

From The Conversation, Henry Zakumumpa reports on how Uganda is closing its funding gap for the scale-up of antiretroviral treatment and service delivery

Over the last 15 years, there’s been a rapid increase in the number of patients receiving HIV treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. This has largely depended on foreign aid, particularly from global aid organisations such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Global Fund.
Millions of lives have been saved and the quality of life of those living with HIV has been improved dramatically.
In recent years there have been persistent reports of a decline in the amou

“HIV PEP-in-pocket (PIP)" designed to help those “who do not meet criteria for daily or on-demand PrEP" From CATIE, Sean R.Hosein reports.

- Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can prevent HIV infection up to 72 hours after exposure
- To expedite initiation of PEP, two Toronto clinics prescribed the medication in advance
- 13% of “PEP-in-pocket” prescriptions were filled, resulting in zero infections
There are several options to reduce a person’s risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex. One option increasingly used in Canada and other high-income countries involves the use of a pill containing two anti-HIV medicines—

From Kenya, Kimutai Kemboi writes on the importance of self-acceptance.

I have experienced a great change in my life since I accepted my status and decided to move on. Unlike my past, when I used to live without peace and my heart full of guilt and pain.
Things drastically changed when I acknowledged that I was HIV-positive and decided to lead a positive life. Now I can smile, make fun and interact with people freely, without fear of victimization nor stigmatisation because the guilt is no longer part of me.
I used to fear issues to do with stigma but I came to

A Treatment Action Campaign protest
At the just-concluded 2018 Partners Forum that held from February 13 -15, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza, Johannesburg, South Africa, participants were taken through an Advocacy 001 class. The lecture sounded very much like what advocacy should be – planned, with timelines and targets, adequately funded with measureable targets. Sadly, the history of HIV and AIDS activism in Africa was not such structured campaigns.
HIV and AIDS activism evolved out of a d

"The sole issue in this case is whether psychological harm said to have been caused by non-disclosure of HIV status vitiates consent to sexual activity. The short answer is no, it does not." The Globe and Mail reports.

Wesley Vandinter/Getty Images
To read the complete article, visit the Globe and Mail, here.
HALIFAX (CP) -- Nova Scotia's highest court has overturned the sexual-assault convictions of an HIV-positive former boxer who slept with two women, saying their consent wasn't diminished by the man not disclosing his condition.
Claude Thompson was found guilty of sexual-assault causing bodily harm of two women in Antigonish, N.S., and sentenced to 30 months in jail. In a written ruling released Th

Championing Healthy Public Policy for Older Adults Living with HIV in Canada.

Please consider joining Realize for one of three upcoming online consultations on Championing Healthy Public Policy for Older Adults Living with HIV in Canada.
These online consultations are open to people living with HIV, service providers, health professionals, researchers, policy makers and others with a shared interest in these issues.
Please consider joining Realize for one of three upcoming online consultations on Championing Healthy Public Policy for Older Adults Living with

From Uganda, Matovu William's first article as a regular contributor to PositiveLite.com discusses the many benefits of antiretroviral theraoy (ART).

According to UNAIDS, there were approximately 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2016. Of these, 2.1 million were children (<15 years old). As of July 2017, 20.9 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally, up from 15.8 million in June 2015, 7.5 million in 2010, and less than one million in 2000.
HIV treatment known as Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is medication which is given to HIV positive people to treat HIV but it do

William Matovu of Uganda’s Love to Love Organization in conversation with Rob Olver

It was not much more than a year ago that I first wrote about Love to Love Organization for PositiveLite.com, having been introduced to their work by my Facebook friend, William Matovu, a young HIV activist working there as an HIV educator and peer advocate.. Suddenly one day there he was on Face Book, with: “This is how it's gonna be... responding to the development of youths and who are less advantaged and orphans by promoting their God given talents." I liked the attitude and I wanted

Fences were being mended as the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) announced last week its full endorsement of the “Undetectable equals Untransmittable” (U=U) campaign. Bob Leahy speaks to the principals.

There have been many milestones in the two year history of U=U. In Canada, think of when CATIE came on board. Elsewhere, think of when U=U burst onto the world stage, quite literally, at IAS2017 in Paris. Or when the CDC embraced the science and said this, "people who take ART daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner." Or when leading U.S. scientist Anthony Fauci said this: "Fr

Study finds strong links between PrEP disruptions and intimate partner violence in Kenya and Uganda. Combined interventions could be key to improving adherence and linking victims to support services. From Avert.org, Francesca Harrington-Edmans reports.

Photo credit: istock/znm
People who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are more likely to miss doses of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in Kenya and Uganda, according to new findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS).
The study, which recruited participants from four sites across Uganda and Kenya where PrEP was being offered